Chapter Thirty-Five: The Piano Prince

  Poor Yoo Hee-jin didn't realize at this time that Jang Ho-bin was just a freshman, did she have to be so nervous?

  As she washed the dishes, Yoo Hee-jin couldn't help but feel extremely regretful about her earlier behavior. However, women tend to easily shift the blame onto others, and Yoo Hee-jin was no exception. In less than a minute, she began to scold Jang Ho-bin in her mind: "Damn Ho-bin, it's all your fault for making the wine so good and the food so delicious that I ended up making a fool of myself! You must have done it on purpose!" Thinking this, Yoo Hee-jin couldn't help but scrub the plate in her hand with force.

  "But, surprisingly, Zhang Huban's cooking skills are really good! If I could eat the dishes he cooks every day with Feifei, that would be great!" Although she was scolding Zhang Huban just a moment ago, Liu Xizhen's face is now filled with a happy smile again.

  Steinway pianos have always been the prince of the piano world, the ruler of high-end pianos. From the selection of materials to the production process, every Steinway piano uses eight types of wood. Steinway has always insisted on sending wood experts to the logging base to select suitable wood, which cannot have holes or knots, and the trees cannot grow too fast, otherwise the texture gap of the wood will be too wide. After the wood is transported to the Steinway factory, it will be further screened, and finally, the materials selected by Steinway may only account for 20%~30% of the wood purchased from the logging site. To ensure that the piano does not deform or have problems in any environment, the drying and molding process is monitored and calculated by computer. Then, craftsmen use clamps to fix the 17-layer hard maple piano frame in place. The arched soundboard made of Alaskan spruce wood is also handmade, with a thicker middle and gradually thinner edges. Piano craftsmen assemble the 12,000 parts (all made from the same tree) produced by machines entirely by hand, which takes almost a year to complete. A Steinway piano sells for between 300,000 to 1,300,000 yuan in China, but still cannot meet demand.

  In Liu Xiuzhen's living room, a Steinway piano was quietly placed beside the stairs. With Zhang Huban's discerning eye, it was clear that this piano was extraordinary, with flawless wood and exquisite craftsmanship. Since systematically studying music, Zhang Huban had never come into contact with such a high-end piano, and couldn't help but feel a little itchy, involuntarily sitting down on the stool behind the piano. Placing his hands lightly on the keys, classic works of human music floated up from his mind.

  For Zhang Huban, who can set up a complex and intricate fairy array on a small stone, the structure of the piano only needs to be glanced at to understand the entire operating principle and technique. Of course, if it's the latest electronic technology, I estimate that Zhang Huban will need a little time to understand it.

  It is said that Beethoven's immortal piano piece "For Elise" was written out of love, and it was a birthday gift to his lover Therese. Beethoven never married in his life, but he had been pursuing sweet love all the time, and the creation of "For Elise" contains such a romantic story.

  Beethoven is one of the few music masters in this world that Zhang Hupan can appreciate, so Zhang Hupan naturally played "Für Elise". In an instant, beautiful notes flowed out from Zhang Hupan's fingertips like clouds and water. If Beethoven heard Zhang Hupan's performance now, he would definitely think it was the most perfect interpretation of his music. The music is too beautiful, elegant and gentle, with a deep emotional resonance that directly touches the soul.

  The beautiful sound of the piano floated throughout the villa, and Yoo Hye-jin, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, also heard the beautiful sound. Her feet moved involuntarily towards the source of the sound. When she saw Jang Ho-bin completely absorbed in playing the piano, with beautiful notes flowing from his fingertips, Yoo Hye-jin was completely shocked. She dared to say that she had never heard such a beautiful and moving piano sound, such a smooth and skilled performance. Everything was just too amazing, this young man brought too many shocks to Yoo Hye-jin, she was completely fascinated by Jang Ho-bin in front of her, and she didn't know what kind of surprise he would bring to her next!

  The music had stopped, but Liu Xizhen couldn't come back to herself for a long time from that beautiful and lingering sound. It wasn't until Zhang Huban walked up to her side that she finally came back to reality.

  "Can you play a few more? I love Richard Clayderman's piano pieces!" Liu Xiuzhen asked Zhang Huban with a soft and gentle voice, her eyes gazing afar.

  "I'd be happy to play for you!" Zhang Huban sat back on the stool and began to play. "Romeo and Juliet", "Whispers of Autumn", "Love Concerto", "Rose-colored Life"... The beautiful melodies, elegant piano sounds, completely immersed Liu Xijun in the music, unable to extricate herself. In the distance, Zhang Huban's figure, fully focused on playing, gradually became blurry, as if he had transformed into the white prince of her childhood dreams, and she had become Cinderella in his eyes! Everything was so beautiful, so happy. Unfortunately, the fading piano sound awakened Liu Xijun's fantasy, and the cruel reality deeply pierced her heart.

  Zhang Huban was still just a freshman, while she had already become a mother to a girl. There was an insurmountable gap between them, and Liu Xizhen sighed deeply in her heart. As someone who had once walked out of love, Liu Xizhen understood that she had already deeply fallen for Zhang Huban, who was ten years younger than her. It was precisely this ten-year age difference that made Liu Xizhen fearful and timid!

  "Bravo!" When Zhang Huban's piano sound finally stopped, Liu Xijin used applause to cover up her inner panic at the boy in front of her.

  Although Zhang Huban was a master of the Yuan Dynasty, he couldn't understand the complex emotions in a woman's heart. Seeing Liu Xizhen clapping and praising him, he stood up happily, imitating the description in the book, with his right arm placed horizontally in front of his abdomen, and bowed very gentlemanly to Liu Xizhen, smiling and saying: "Thank you for your appreciation!"

  Looking at Zhang Huban in front of her, who came from a rural area but was so excellent, Liu Xizhen felt that she needed to calm down and sort out the shock that Zhang Huban had just brought to her heart.

  "Thank you for spending such a perfect birthday with me!" Yoo Hee-jin said softly, "But now I'm a bit tired and want to rest for a while!"

  Although Zhang Huban was very strange and happy just now, why did Liu Xizhen suddenly become a little sad and heartbroken? But since Liu Xizhen said so, Zhang Huban could only choose to leave.

  "Then you take a good rest! I'll go back first!" Zhang Huban said, getting up and just about to leave when he suddenly remembered the birthday gift he had prepared for Liu Xijun. He took out the bottle of one-of-a-kind perfume from his pocket and said: "Happy Birthday, Sister Xijun!" Then he handed the perfume over to Liu Xijun.

  In the container made of crystal, it gives a huge impact just from visual aspect, not to mention that unique fragrance which makes people irresistible. It can drive all women crazy. At this moment, Liu Xi Zhen was completely attracted by the perfume in her hand, she couldn't imagine there existed such perfect container and fragrance so elegant and fragrant in this world!

  Clutching the birthday gift from Zhang Hu Pan tightly in her hand, she gazed out of the window as he rode his bicycle away slowly. Tears fell like pearls down her cheeks. At this moment, Liu Xi Zhen felt a sense of helplessness she had never experienced before. She longed to hold back the boy who was leaving, even if only for a brief moment, but age and children were like thorns that pierced deeply into her heart. Never had she regretted not taking good care of her youth as much as at this moment, nor had she ever felt such deep love for Zhang Hu Pan! Picking up the crystal bottle in her hand, Liu Xi Zhen lightly kissed it, and with a sorrowful heart, told herself: "Forget about this absurd feeling! You and he are people from two different worlds!"

  When leaving, the faint sadness in Yoo Hye-jin's eyes would occasionally replay in Jang Ho-bin's mind. Although Yoo Hye-jin concealed it well, for someone as perceptive as Jang Ho-bin, even the best concealment was futile. Jang Ho-bin didn't know what was wrong with Yoo Hye-jin; he could clearly feel the initial joy they shared when together, but somehow it suddenly turned a bit sorrowful.

  "Why am I worrying about these things? Maybe she just suddenly remembered something unhappy, who knows! Ah, a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, it's really not wrong at all!" Zhang Huban shook his head and sped up on his bike, but before long, he started to worry about Liu Xijin again.

  Yu Xizhen was a strong woman, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to run the bar so well with a daughter. Since she had already accepted that things wouldn't work out with Zhang Huban, Yu Xizhen decided to truly treat him as her younger brother! After coming to terms with it, Yu Xizhen recovered from a night of pain and quickly returned to normal, although there was still a hint of hidden pain deep down in her heart. Seeing Yu Xizhen regain her cheerful mood, chatting and laughing with him, Zhang Huban finally put down the heart that had been hanging in the balance, having never experienced emotional entanglements before.